Kurashiki Tenryo Summer Festival, Tamashima Festival, Mabi-Funao Soodori Dance Festival, and many other festivals are held in Kurashiki during the summer. These festivals, brought to life by the united efforts of local residents, are a summer tradition that draws many visitors from both inside and outside the city.
Bon Odori is often thought of as a traditional event, but in August 2024, a new festival called “Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori” got its start in Kurashiki. As its name suggests, this Bon Odori has “you can do it someday” as its key phrase.
Thinking it was a rare opportunity to witness the birth of a new festival, I decided to go along too.
Here, I’ll share what the event was like and the organizers’ thoughts.
The information presented here was accurate when this article was published in September 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori?
Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori was held on Friday, August 16, 2024.
At a time when some communities can no longer continue holding Bon Odori, the organizers, the Kurashiki Shopping Street Promotion Federation and KOMA Co., Ltd., planned the event with the aim of “creating a new festival as a way for local people to connect.”
The theme of Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori is a fun Bon Odori that everyone can take part in, regardless of age, nationality, disability, or gender. It was created with the concept of “you can do it someday,” with the aim of eventually becoming a popular Bon Odori that brings the community to life.
The venue for the first event was Bios Ikoi Square in Kurashiki Center Street.
There were also food stalls, an essential part of any festival, with vendors offering not only food and drinks but also miscellaneous goods and hands-on workshops.
- POP.POP.POP (miscellaneous goods)
- Atelier Nukagokko (mask-making workshop)
- USHIO CHOCOLATL (chocolate)
- Hyon (shaved ice, drinks)
- Shizenshoku Kotan (organic food)
- Cafe&Bar KAG (hot dogs and more)
“Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo,” a dance anyone can join
“Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo,” the song used for the Bon Odori, was planned by Nuka Tsukuru Toko, a welfare service provider in Hayashima Town, and composed by contemporary Ondo composer Yamanaka Camera. The concept came from a pun based on the similar sounds of “Setouchi” and “sonouchi” (“someday”). It is also closely connected to Nuka Tsukuru Toko’s concept of “fermentation,” and “Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo,” themed around “you can do it someday,” was completed.
According to Yamanaka Camera, after researching the history and dances passed down in the Setouchi region, including Shiraishi Odori, he created the song around the figure of Ippen Shonin, the founder of “dancing nenbutsu.”
It seems to have been influenced by a form of dance that transcended social class, and through which anyone could reach the Pure Land without discrimination.
“Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo” features simple choreography, making it a dance that anyone can easily join.
What the festival was like on the day
Around dusk on Friday, August 16, I headed to the venue, Bios Ikoi Square. I could hear live music from the shopping street along the way, and my excitement grew as I felt the festival drawing closer.
Voices ring out across Bios Ikoi Square
Many people were already enjoying the food stalls and music at the venue, creating a lively atmosphere. Bios Ikoi Square, usually used as a rest area, had come alive, and I could feel the power of the festival.
Music played continuously from the yagura tower erected in the center of the square. When I arrived, a mini-live performance by Naka Murasatoko was underway.
Her powerful singing voice made passersby stop and listen.
Among the participants dancing around the yagura were people wearing hats made of cardboard. Curious, I asked a staff member and learned that they had been made at a workshop run by Minna no Danboruman, which reuses cardboard.
There were also cardboard pieces designed to be worn like armor, and children dressed up in cardboard were happily playing.
Food stalls lined the venue.
Shizenshoku Kotan, an organic food shop in Okayama City, was serving natural foods that looked good for you and fresh craft beer. Tempted by a sign that read “Super cold!”, I decided to check out the other stalls first.
The food vendors included a tempting selection: hot dogs with homemade sausages, shaved ice with homemade syrup, and carefully crafted chocolates made by a chocolate maker.
The line of parents and children was for the fox-mask-making workshop at Atelier Nukagokko. Atelier Nukagokko is an after-school day service in Hayashima Town where elementary through high school students can make things.
Taking a closer look at the stalls, I saw children decorating fox masks with patterns and colors of their own choosing.
The children’s uniquely decorated masks seemed to add even more color to the venue.
The Bon Odori finally gets underway
As the start of the Bon Odori drew near, Akiba Yuichi of KOMA Co., Ltd., which planned and organized Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori, and Yamanaka Camera, who composed the Setouchi Bon Odori song, gave greetings.
At their invitation to join in, people in the square gradually gathered near the yagura.
The Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo begins with singer Satoko Nakamura’s voice, and the Bon Odori dancing gets underway.
The music’s relaxed rhythm is said to represent the waves of the Seto Inland Sea, and the choreography, like the music, felt calm and gentle.
The song lasts about seven minutes and is repeated several times. With each repetition, more people joined the dancing, and people of all ages and genders gathered around the yagura tower.
By the time the sun had completely set, the number of people at the venue had reached its peak.
Some enjoyed a meal while listening to the Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo, while others chatted with people they knew; everyone spent the time as they pleased in a relaxed atmosphere.
I, too, ordered a draft craft beer to quench my thirst and raised a toast toward the yagura. Beer served in a plastic cup has a special charm that’s unique to festivals.
As I walked around with my beer, I came across a place where people could submit lyrics for the Setouchi Sonouchi Ondo. Participants could write part of the song’s lyrics, and those selected by lottery would actually be sung.
Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to try writing some lyrics myself. Using the sample lines as a guide, I wrote down a wish I’d like to fulfill someday.
Remembering how my recent attempts at home gardening had repeatedly failed, I submitted the lyrics, “My home garden just won’t grow / Someday I hope to eat a tomato.”
After a while, the names of those who had submitted lyrics were called out, and mine was called too. The submitted lyrics were sung one by one.
I felt a little embarrassed hearing my own lyrics sung, but it was the first time in my life that a professional had sung lyrics I’d written, and that people had danced to them. It was fun to have such a precious experience, one I wouldn’t normally get to enjoy.
The Bon Odori continued until around 9 p.m. Many people enjoyed dancing until the very end, forming a circle around the yagura.
We asked the organizers about their hopes for next year’s event
We spoke with Yuichi Akiba, representative director of the event’s organizer, KOMA Co., Ltd., about the future of Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori.
Akiba says that through Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori, he hopes “Kurashiki will become a truly cool city.” By “cool city,” Akiba doesn’t mean a city lined with tall buildings and beautiful commercial facilities, but one with a spirit of mutual support, where people reach out to those in need.
“There are all kinds of people in the world—people with disabilities, different genders, ages, nationalities… I hope we can create an environment where everyone can reach out to one another. What matters for that is taking an interest in each other. We’ve worked together with people with disabilities to put this event together, and I hope Sonouchi Bon Odori can become one of the things that encourages people to pay attention to them.”
Akiba says he hopes to spread the message to people through Bon Odori. His goal is to hold the second Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori in 2025 along the Kurashiki River in the Bikan Historical Area, where it will catch the eye of more people.
From the Writer
What stood out about Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori was the warm, welcoming atmosphere that enveloped the entire venue.
I wonder if the music and choreography, which evoke the Seto Inland Sea, helped create that atmosphere. I felt at ease throughout the event.
I think it was a unique experience of Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori that local people could take part not only in the dancing but also in writing the lyrics. It also gave me a sense of connection, thinking, “I got to be one of the people who made the bon odori!” It became a happy memory.
I hope the wish read aloud by the writer this time will come true someday.
Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori is becoming a new tradition in Kurashiki.
I look forward to seeing what kind of exchange will take place at the second event, held in the Bikan Historical Area.
Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori Information
| Name | Kurashiki Sonouchi Bon Odori |
|---|---|
| Date | Friday, August 16, 2024 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. |
| Location | 2-6-1 Achi, Kurashiki City |
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